Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Recent Findings and Future Perspectives
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 6160
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Background: Following a diagnosis of unresectable HCC, patient mortality is high. HCC arises from inflammation and can be highly immune-responsive.
The anti-PD-1 antibodies, nivolumab and pembrolizumab, yielded durable overall response rates (ORRs) of 15%-20% and were the first FDA-approved immunotherapies for HCC. Following promising phase I study results, combined atezolizumab (anti-PD-L1) and bevacizumab (anti-VEGF) were tested against sorafenib in the IMbrave150 phase III trial and demonstrated a significantly improved median OS (19.2 vs. 13.4 months; HR = 0.66 [95% CI, 0.52, 0.85]; P=0.0009),) and a median ORR of 29.8% (complete response rate, 7.7%), leading to FDA approval of this combination for use on the frontline for patients with advanced HCC. The combination of inhibitors of two different immune checkpoints, PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA4, has shown promise in advanced HCC. Nivolumab (anti-PD-1) plus ipilimumab (anti-CTLA4) demonstrated an ORR of 32% and a median OS of 23 months in the CheckMate 040 trial and received accelerated FDA approval for use in a second-line advanced HCC setting. The phase III HIMALAYA study compared durvalumab (anti–PD-L1) plus tremelimumab (anti-CTLA4) to standard sorafenib in HCC. This novel immunotherapy combination reduced mortality risk by 22% and led to a higher median OS (16.4 vs. 13.8 months) and ORR (20.1% vs. 5.1%) and lower incidence of treatment-related grade 3/4 adverse events (25.8% vs. 36.9%).
Aim: Recently, the HCC treatment landscape has rapidly expanded and is likely to continue to develop at a fast pace. This Special Issue aims to review the latest findings related to immunotherapy in HCC and future treatment perspectives. We aim to present the most recent developments in the HCC immune microenvironment and how this might inform HCC treatment moving forward and meet the requirements of immunotherapy for HCC. This Special Issue will explore novel immunotherapy combinations to improve the response rate and survival of HCC patients, biomarkers that could personalize immunotherapy to any patient’s HCC, and cellular therapy in HCC. We are also open to suggestions from invited authors.
Prof. Dr. Aiwu Ruth He
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- HCC
- immunotherapy
- immune checkpoint inhibitor
- anti-PD-1
- anti-CTLA4
- biomarker
